Wang, Yinhan; 2011, ‘Media Literacy Dossier: research review 7 (Duran et al 2008), LSE Media Policy Project, April 28. Full reference details of reviewed article: Duran, R. L., Yousman, B., Walsh, K. M., & Longshore, M. A. (2008). Holistic media education: An assessment of the effectiveness of a college course in media literacy. Communication Quarterly, 56(1), 49-68. Conceptions/definition of media literacy (or related concept) used The holistic approach to media literacy advocated by the authors entails both the textual concern (critical thinking and creative production with regard to media messages) and contextual concern (critical understanding of the production and consumption aspect of the media). It argues that ‘to be a citizen rather than a passive consumer in media-saturated societies, one must develop an understanding of the commercial structure of the media industries and the political and ideological implications of this structure… the person who is truly media literate is also knowledgeable of the political economy of the media, the consequences of media consumption, and the activist and alternative media movements that seek to challenge mainstream media norms and create a more democratic system’ (p. 51). Research method/scope of empirical work The authors identified two weaknesses of previous studies on the efficacy of media literacy education: (i) they are limited in scope, focusing predominantly on measuring how students understand and analyze media text (i.e. addressing the textual concern) without paying heed to other contextual concerns related to media production, media exposure and media activism. (ii) the studies focus on K-12 students rather than college students and adults. They study has three hypotheses: Students who complete a holistic media literacy course are significantly more (H1) aware of media structures, (H2) aware of media influence and (H3) critical of TV advertisements than those who do not complete such course. The study consists of a pre-test, post-test, control group post-test, and quasi-experimental design. 380 undergraduate participants were recruited to complete a questionnaire that entails: Knowledge of Media Structures Scale, Media Influence Scale, and 3 open-ended questions about an advertisement (which is then content coded). The experimental condition was a course in media literacy that teaches about the political economy of media institutions, analysis of media content, and media activism. Key findings

- The significant differences between the post-test scores of experimental and control groups indicate that the media literacy course offered was ‘at lease partially successful’ in achieving the course goals.

- H1 is supported. There were significant differences between the post-

test scores of experimental and control groups on all 5 dimensions of the scale testing for knowledge of media structures. In addition, there is a significant difference between the pre and post-test scores of the experimental group in the dimension of ‘media advocacy groups’, suggesting that media literacy education did improve students’ knowledge.

- H2 is supported. Those who received the course were significantly more likely than those who did not to be aware of the media influence. A notable finding is that media literacy course seemed to mitigate the third-person effect (believing that the media influence others but not self).

- H3 is supported. Compared to control group whose response was mainly about the content features (storyline and characters), experimental group was more likely to note the production features, was more critical, and also observed the implied message.

Key implications for research and policymaking Future research should seek a larger sample size, employ qualitative research to elicit deeper knowledge of how students understand the purposes of media literacy, and also assess the efficacy of holistic media education through longitudinal study. The scale of assessment should extend from TV to include new media, and also develop adequate measure for the media literacy of adult. U.S. schools should offer more holistic media literacy education in not only K-12 level, but also in higher education, if not the general public.